Diablo Cody Felt Unleashed Writing Jennifer’s Body 2, Teasing a Wilder Sequel

For those of us who actually liked Jennifer's Body back in 2009 (yes, I really did see it twice in theaters — don't judge), we've all had to live through an entire era where nobody cared about the movie except for a devoted, slightly embarrassed few. Sure, it tanked at the box office, basically making back its $16 million budget in the U.S. and a middling $31.5 million worldwide, but time (and the internet) has proven that sometimes, the weird, overlooked horror-comedies age into cult classics. Now, against the odds, Jennifer's Body 2 is actually in the works, and screenwriter Diablo Cody is making it clear she’s not holding back this time.

Quick Recap: What Happened in Jennifer's Body?

Missed it the first time around? (Honestly, most people did.) The first film followed Megan Fox as Jennifer Check, your standard-issue 2000s high-schooler who gets sacrificed in the woods by a band called Low Shoulder — you know, as you do — and ends up possessed by a demon. From there, she has to eat boys to keep herself alive and looking great. Her best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) catches on, naturally freaks out, and tries to prevent Jennifer from chowing down on her own boyfriend, Chip (Johnny Simmons). It's horror, it's comedy, it's got sharp teeth and a lot more dark humor than anyone expected at the time.

So, About That Sequel…

Diablo Cody recently opened up about writing Jennifer's Body 2 on The Boo Crew podcast, and, honestly, she sounds pretty amped. According to Cody, this isn’t your cut-and-paste sequel where everyone tiptoes around what made the first movie work. Instead, she says:

'It actually is not a typical sequel process, where you’re going ‘here’s what we’re going to protect from the first movie.’ It’s more like all the ways in which I was restrained on the first movie, I’m now unleashed. So it actually is less a feeling of being cautious and more of a feeling of being careless in the best way. Obviously Jennifer's Body is very important to me. I love it but I actually feel like the culture has caught up with what we were trying to do with that movie. Now it’s like I can really stretch my legs. I really loved writing this script. There was not a moment of it that felt like work, which is unusual for me these days.'

When a writer starts talking about feeling 'unleashed,' it’s usually a good sign (unless you hated the first one, in which case, well, brace yourself). Cody also noted that the new movie is shaped directly by the way fans rediscovered and championed the original after it bombed:

'Thematically, the whole movie is a response to that rediscovery [of the first film]. Truly, it was an unusual situation where the fans were able to inspire me back. The whole movie is infused with that love and appreciation and discovery. Every movie is about something, other than what it’s about, but this one is not just about Jennifer and Needy, it’s about me. It was really, really cathartic to write. I felt a lot of gratitude in the writing process, because it wouldn’t be happening if people hadn’t shown so much love for the first movie. I cannot even think of a scenario, and we’ve tried, where a movie flopped critically and commercially and then got a sequel.'

Producer's Take: The Sequel Script Is 'So Good and So Funny'

Mason Novick, Cody's longtime collaborator and one of the producers on Forbidden Fruits (not at all related, but he was on the podcast too), has read the script for Jennifer's Body 2 and is clearly on board. According to Novick, it nails what made the first movie work — and then some:

'The script is so good and so funny, and it just hits on so many different levels. It honors the first movie; it also sort of makes fun of the first movie. It makes fun of the experience of it. It deals with a lot of things that feel current today that you couldn’t quite talk about in the first one. I love it. I’ve read it a few times. I love it so much and I'm really excited to go make it.'

In Summary: A Flop No More

If you’re keeping score, here’s where we are:

• Jennifer's Body bombed at release, found a loyal following years later, and is now considered a cult classic (told you so).
• Diablo Cody is back for the sequel and, for once, feels totally free to write the movie she wanted to make all along.
• The script isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself and apparently has plenty to say about the here and now.
• Even the producer can’t shut up about how much he loves the new draft.

There aren't too many movies that fail on their first try, only to claw their way out of obscurity and end up with a full-blown sequel over a decade later. Whether you're a diehard fan or just curious to see how far this sequel can go, it looks like Jennifer's Body 2 is determined to do something different — and, for once, totally unapologetic.